Wow, we are back from the Mercury and it was a ride! We of course, as I wrote a week or so ago spending the night in Charleston, SC and Celebrity paid for our rooms and also gave us $70 each for dinner and breakfast. We finally boarded the next day at about 3:30PM. Mercury left port at approx 7:30PM heading to Costa Maya and skipping Key West (which again we were compensated for) Celebrity treated us very well and of course as always we had a handful of grumpy old complainers:0( We were told only 55 passenger contacted the virus and I hate to say it but we were 2 of them. My husband got it the night before Belize so he was restricted to the cabin, he could not have left anyway, he was sick. The Doc released him 48 hours later at 2 in the afternoon and at 4 I have it...yeeks.
They were so very nice to us. No one could salt or pepper their food, the poor crew had to do everything, put cream in our coffee etc. The poker chips were sanitized and coins from the slot machine baked in the ovens to kill any chance of the virus. They did everything that they could and I did feel for the crew they were all so wonderful and overworked.
Now when I was fine I loved the food it was very good with lots of selections. The shows that I attended were great. The ship I felt did not show her years at all, it did have a make over I think in 2006. I LOVE the new Captains Club upgrade....WOW for ELITE members we had 90 min each free internet, 30 items each laundry free, I think 2 dry cleaning each and 1 item pressed free each....BUT I loved the CC 2 hour cocktail hour each and every night from 4 to 6 in a private club that was awesome!! We finally got an invitation to dine with the Captain, but we had to decline due to Nor Virus. That killed me, I hated to decline but I think they would have know how sick we were when I ordered just crackers please! You know I still love CELEBRITY they took great care of us and we were also compensated for the days we were in isolation. The itinerary was a nice one, we did miss 3 of the ports, or well. All in All.. we laughed, we cried and we felt good. We did have fun and we did get sick but it could have been anything and Celebrity needs 3 cheers for all the they went thru to try and keep the passengers happy when in reality the virus more than likely come on board in Charleston. We were told by many locals it had hit some of the schools pretty bad. Of couse you all have to fill out the health Cert before boarding and people will Cheat..
I hope this is helpful and if anyone has questions just let me know

Janfred, welcome back from your cruise. I read the Mercury had sick passengers on it again, and I was hoping you had escaped. So sorry to hear you were both sick!

I have to say, however, that yours was one of the nicest messages I've ever read, coming from someone who got norovirus onboard a ship. You really see the glass as half full, not half empty. You have a great attitude and I applaud you. Thank you for your review and your positive take on a cruise that was not ideal. I'm glad Celebrity compensated you for all that they did, and am especially glad that you were able to enjoy the cruise as much as you did.

Oh Sandy thank you,
I can honestly say, I am so very well rested and relaxed for that dirty little word..WORK tomorrow Ha! I did get alot of sleep wow :0)
and only 67 days more til the next one ! God help me I love it!

Thanks for this honest and level headed report. So sorry to hear you both still got the bug. I agree, it was most likely brought back on board from guests in SC. It seems to me that Celebrity did everything in their control to keep this from happening again, and stepped up with compensation.

So glad you made the best of a tough situation, looking forward to trying the Mercury soon.

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Welcome back janfred I must say y'all are real troopers! I'm sure y'all will look back on this cruise as a memorable one, maybe not for the right reasons, but none-the-less memorable Celebrity certainly sounds like they did their best to keep it from happening, just can't get every single one of those little germs. It does sounds like, when y'all were well, you had a marvelous time. Maybe next cruise you'll be able to dine with the captain. I know that had to have been the hardest thing to turn down, such an honor.

At least the wait isn't too long for your next one! I know I'm chomping at the bit